Do any of you have a piece of music that when you listen to it, you end up feeling sad regardless of your current mood? For me, Blue Bird Lamentation from the second Zero Escape title is that piece. Seriously, I get melancholy whenever I hear it. Hell, sometimes I put it on just to make myself sad.

Obviously, part of that is due to associating the track with certain events within the game. If something really tragic or bittersweet is happening, nine times out of ten this music is accompanying it. But I like to think there’s more to it.

It starts off rather slow, sounding like the kind of tune you’d hear from a music box (which is particularly appropriate if you’ve played the game). It’s eventually joined by more instruments, creating a more dramatic feel to it. To me, it’s representing that quiet sadness; the kind you have when you’re alone and isolated, trying to bottle up your feelings.

But then it gradually ramps up, suddenly becoming loud and impactful. This shift almost sounds like the music’s becoming triumphant, but that’s not what it is. It’s more like an explosion of emotion; as if the tears you’ve been holding back have burst out. It’s a scream of hurt and heartbreak that echoes through the air, eventually slowing down and replaced once more with the slow, quiet pace – the cries dying down to silent sobs and eventually concluding.

Sorry if this got awfully pretentious there but that’s how I feel about this track. It’s an encapsulation of what it’s like to go through a painful tragedy – the sense of isolation, the dawning realisation, allowing yourself to let out your sadness and the inevitable calm that follows.

If you ever have one of those moments where you just want some alone time to feel sad, maybe put this track on for a bit. In my experience, it weirdly makes you feel a bit better, because sometimes we need a good cry once in a while.